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Arsenal’s pursuit of a new striker has taken a promising turn, with reports suggesting that Canadian forward Jonathan David is open to a move to North London – and crucially, his salary expectations are within reach for the Gunners. The Lille striker has been on the radar of multiple Premier League clubs, but Arsenal are now believed to be leading the race thanks to their Champions League status and attractive project under Mikel Arteta.
David is a financially viable option
David, who has netted 24 goals in all competitions this season, has just one year left on his contract with Lille. That puts the French club under pressure to cash in this summer or risk losing him for free in 2026. According to TeamTalk, David’s representatives have made it clear that while he is seeking a fair wage package, he is not demanding unrealistic terms – making him a more financially viable option than some of the other strikers Arsenal have considered.
A versatile forward who fits Arteta’s system
What makes David such a compelling target for Arsenal is his versatility and work rate. The 24-year-old is capable of playing as a lone striker or in a two-man partnership, and he’s shown the ability to link up play, press aggressively, and make clever runs behind defences –
traits Arteta values highly. His intelligence off the ball and calm finishing in the box would add a new dimension to Arsenal’s attacking setup, especially as Gabriel Jesus continues to struggle with injury setbacks and Kai Havertz remains a hybrid option rather than a pure No.9.
Importantly, David is also entering his prime years and has experience in both Ligue 1 and the Champions League. Arsenal are expected to face competition for his signature, but the player’s openness to joining the project and Lille’s need to sell could give Berta and Arteta the edge in finalising a deal swiftly.
Would you be excited to see Jonathan David at the Emirates next season, Gooners? Let us know in the comments below.
Michelle M
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Thomas Frank 'really' likes This Tottenham star who proved his prolific skills under Ange Postecoglou
New Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank is a huge fan of Brennan Johnson Thomas Frank arrived at Tottenham Hotspur in June and so far has been able to add Kota Takai, Mohammed Kudus and Joao Palhinha to his ranks. The new Spurs boss was close to landing Morgan Gibbs-White, only for Nottingham Forest to block the move due to legal reasons. Eventually, the deal collapsed and Nottingham Forest convinced Gibbs-White to sign a new deal. It was a blow for new boss Thomas Frank to his hopes of rebuilding the squad that finished just above the three relegated teams last season. The Dane built a strong reputation as an astute, flexible tactician during his seven-year spell at Brentford, and Daniel Levy has brought him across the capital to help achieve some sort of stability. Despite some fresh faces being added to the squad, as well as mostly young talents returning to the club from loan spells, Frank will still mostly be working with the players who were already at Tottenham. Of course, Brennan Johnson is one of those. Thomas Frank likes Brennan Johnson Brennan Johnson was one of the signings made by Spurs during the Ange Postecoglou era. He left his boyhood club Nottingham Forest to join the north Londoners in the summer of 2023. After a decent debut season, the Wales international took to his game to another level last term when he became Tottenham’s highest goalscorer with 18 strikes in all competitions. It was his ability to sniff out goals and time his runs to perfection in the box that turned out to be one of the reasons for the 24-year-old to score so many goals, including the winner in the Europa League final against Manchester United. Johnson has been impressed by summer signing Kudus, but when it comes to getting the best out of the squad that Frank inherited from Ange, TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey has revealed that the Danish boss already “really likes” the club’s top scorer from 2024/25 season. “I actually thought Richarlison would be one of them, it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out, because there are a few Spurs players worth watching here,” Graeme Bailey exclusively told TBR Football when asked about Frank’s early favourites. “Kulusevski, for example, we’ll have to see how he fits in…and then there’s Maddison. “I’d heard that Maddison was kind of on the fringes even before Frank arrived at Spurs. “I’ve also heard that Frank really likes both Johnson and Sarr, he’s been impressed by them. But to be fair, when he first came in, he already liked a lot of the squad. “That was actually part of the reason he got the job – in his conversations with Daniel Levy, he went through the whole squad and wasn’t negative about anyone. “He showed he had a strong understanding of the group and was genuinely positive about what was already there.” Brennan Johnson must bring consistency to his game Johnson demonstrated his ability to score all kinds of goals, but he largely received criticism from the fans for his lack of consistency and inability to dribble past players. Additionally, the Welshman’s anonymity for extended periods of a game was frustrating for supporters, who clearly felt he was not offering much from the right. The Hotspur Way chiefs apparently saw it as an issue as well and decided to sign Kudus from West Ham in July. The Ghana international is a more rounded footballer than Johnson and gave glimpses of what he can bring to Frank’s team during the pre-season games thus far. That said, it will be interesting to see how Frank fits Kudus and Johnson in the same side.
Gap between star WR Terry McLaurin, Commanders revealed
As of Thursday morning, the Washington Commanders and Terry McLaurin remained in a contract stalemate after the 29-year-old wide receiver in the final year of his current deal requested a trade. During Thursday's edition of the ESPN "Get Up" program, NFL insider Jeremy Fowler noted that the Commanders and McLaurin are locked in "a classic standoff" as McLaurin allegedly looks to secure "parts" of the five-year, $150M deal that the Pittsburgh Steelers gave DK Metcalf this past March. "They have been far apart," Fowler said about the negotiations between the Commanders and McLaurin, as shared by Joseph Zucker of Bleacher Report. "...[McLaurin] has wanted metrics of the DK Metcalf contract, which is $32M. I'm told the Washington Commanders have only been slightly above where he was before, which is $23M. So take that gap, that's $7M to 8M that they have to bridge." Fowler added that Washington "has got some calls about McLaurin" this summer because "there's some interest league-wide" in learning whether or not the wideout could become available. For what it's worth, numerous reporters have said since McLaurin went public with his trade request that he likely won't go anywhere before Washington opens the season with a home game against the New York Giants on Sept. 7. ESPN's John Keim mentioned that Washington's joint practice with the New England Patriots on Wednesday showed that the Commanders "need McLaurin back on the field" as soon as possible. That's understandable, as McLaurin recorded team highs of 117 targets, 82 receptions and 1,096 receiving yards to help quarterback Jayden Daniels become the Offensive Rookie of the Year for the 2024 season. Additionally, McLaurin finished the 2024 campaign ranked second in the entire NFL with 13 touchdown catches. As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook continued to list a Washington team coming off a trip to this year's NFC Championship Game sixth among the betting favorites at +1800 odds to win Super Bowl LX. Perhaps Wednesday's joint practice will spark more positive conversations between McLaurin's camp and the Commanders that will result in the playmaker rejoining summer practices as soon as early next week.
Padres already demoting one of their trade-deadline acquisitions
The Padres announced they’ve optioned JP Sears to Triple-A El Paso. They recalled reliever Sean Reynolds and will go with a nine-man bullpen in the short term. Sears will spend at least 15 days in the minors unless he’s brought up to replace a player going on the injured list. San Diego acquired Sears alongside Mason Miller in last week’s massive deadline deal. The 29-year-old southpaw made his team debut Monday night. He allowed five runs in as many innings on 10 hits and a walk against the Diamondbacks. Sears took the loss in a 6-2 defeat. He’d carried a 4.95 earned run average over 22 starts with the A’s. Monday's performance pushed his ERA to 5.12 across 116 innings. It’s a bottom-10 mark among pitchers to log at least 100 frames. Sears had the highest home run rate among that group, offsetting his nearly league-average 20.3% strikeout rate and solid 6% walk percentage. This is the first time in two-and-a-half years that Sears heads to the minors. He broke camp with the A’s in 2023 and has been in the majors since then. Sears has also avoided the injured list for that entire time. As a result, he’s tied for fifth in MLB with 87 starts since the beginning of the ’23 season. The durability is the big selling point, as his production (4.62 ERA/4.56 SIERA) over that stretch is that of a fifth or sixth starter. The demotion shouldn’t have any impact on Sears’ service trajectory. He has already surpassed the three-year mark and will qualify for arbitration next winter. He’s under team control for three seasons beyond this one. While he’ll probably be back up at some point this year, it may require an injury elsewhere in the rotation. San Diego optioned Randy Vásquez over the weekend. They have a four-man rotation of Dylan Cease, Nick Pivetta, Yu Darvish and deadline acquisition Nestor Cortes. Darvish and Cortes will get the ball for the next two outings. San Diego is off Thursday and could turn back to Pivetta and Cease on extra rest for their first two games of the weekend series against the Red Sox. That’d point to the series finale on Aug. 10 as Michael King’s return date. King threw 61 pitches in what is expected to be his final rehab start on Sunday, via the MLB.com injury tracker. He’d be on six days' rest for his first MLB appearance since he went on the injured list in late May with a nerve problem in his throwing shoulder.
Luka Doncic Claps Back at Notion Lakers Do Not Want Him at EuroBasket
It can be a delicate dance, when it comes to NBA teams employing international players, because most of those players feel a strong loyalty to their national teams and an obligation to don their jerseys whenever asked. U.S. teams are grateful, of course, for the influx of international players, but most view summer tournaments solely through the lens of injury risks. For Slovenian guard Luka Doncic, that was long the case in Dallas. The Mavericks wanted Doncic happy, of course. They indulged his willingness to suit up for the Slovenians. But they wanted him healthy, and would have preferred he not take part in tournaments over the offseason. The Lakers have not said publicly they want Doncic to not play, now that he is in L.A. and EuroBasket is just days away from tipoff. But around the league, the feeling is that with as much emphasis that the team is putting into conditioning next year, they'd rather Doncic sit out. Luka Doncic Considered Skipping EuroBasket--Briefly But Doncic is playing, and he insists to Slovenian media covering the team that the Lakers gave him no inkling that there might be a problem with his participation. He was asked whether the Lakers give him "free rein," and Doncic replied (via Svet24 and a Google translation): "They support me, they really support me and encourage me to the maximum." Doncic was also asked if he considered taking the summer off, given the intensity of the past year for him in the NBA, which saw him undergo the trade from Dallas and the subsequent emotional aftermath. "There was a thought, but in the end I think we all knew I was going to play," he said. "As I have said many times before, if I can, I will always play so that the decision was not difficult." Doncic and Slovenia will begin their pre-tournament slate with a friendly against Germany on Friday. The team will play its EuroBasket opener Aug. 28 vs. Poland in Katowice, Poland.
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